Apparatus for raising carpet pile



Oct. 18, 1966 s. F. KOWAL 3,279,022

APPARATUS FOR RAISING CARPET FILE Filed March 11, 1965 I v 1 I i J E. g

F I G. 2. VENTOR.

STEPH EKOWAL ATTORNE United States Patent 3,279,022 APPARATUS FOR RAISING CARPET PILE Stephen F. Kowal, Decatur, Ala., assignor to Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 439,052 1 Claim. (Cl. 26-2) This invention relates to apparatus for treatment of pile fabrics and more particularly to apparatus for raising the pile on carpet fabrics.

One of the disadvantages of conventional carpet making processes is that these processes do not always leave the pile of the carpet fabric in an erect position. If the carpet is to have a uniform appearance and feel it is highly desirable that all of the pile filaments stand erect. If some of the pile is not in an erect position the carpet will have an undesirable appearance. Further, floor performance is poorer when the carpet pile is not erect, wear is greater and pile height (depth of pile) is less when the pile is not erect.

Processing, such as dyeing, etc., of carpet fabric and other pile fabrics made from man-made or chemical fibers tend to leave the thermoplastic pile of the material in a position other than erect. In these and other operations the fabric must be heated for one reason or another. If the treatment is to be effective it usually necessary that the fabric be heated to a temperature at or above the softening point of the thermoplastic fibers or filaments in the pile of the material. At this temperature, any mechanical handling or Working of the fabric, such as passage between rolls, through a jet or spray of water, etc., will disarrange and move the softened pile out of an erect position. Upon cooling, the pile will not move back to its former erect position. In the usual operation it is impossible to achieve the desired result, such as dyeing, without disarranging the pile of the fabric.

Apparatus is used for beating the back of the carpet to raise the pile but this apparatus does not always give satisfactory results. With this in mind, one of the objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for raising the pile on a fabric.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for restoring pile height and definition in a carpet material.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus wherein a dragging action is applied to the carpet pile to raise the pile into an erect position.

One embodiment of the present invention contemplates an apparatus having a bar beneath which the carpet fabric is moved, one edge of the bar raking the tufts or pile of the carpet. The bar is pivoted on an axis spaced from the carpet and extending transversely thereto and is weight-loaded so that one edge of the bar is urged into contact with the carpet in a position substantially normal to the carpet backing. The raking action applied to the carpet pile or tufts as the carpet passes beneath this bar raises the pile to an erect position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the device of the present invention is positioned relative to a moving carpet, and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the manner in which the bar engages and raises the tufts on a moving carpet.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, a piece of carpeting material 11 is shown being advanced from a dryer 12 over a back beater 13. The dryer and the back beater ice are old and well known. The tufts 14 on the carpeting material 11 leaving the dryer 12 generally lean forward, as best shown in the left hand portion of FIGURE 2. The back beater 13 is provided for striking sharp blows to the back of the carpeting to attempt to raise the pile to an erect position. However, the back beater does not always achieve the desired results. To insure that the pile is raised to an erect position, the device of the present invention is used. This device may of course be used with other types of carpet treatment machinery.

A pair of bearings 15 are shown supporting a shaft 16 to which is secured a bar 17 having a blunt edge 18. The bearings 15 are positioned so that the axis of the shaft 16 is spaced from the pile surface of the carpet 11 and extends transversely across the carpet. The blunt edge 18 of the bar 17 engages and drags across the surf-ace of the carpet as the carpet is moved beneath the shaft 16, this dragging action raising the tufts or pile 14 on the carpet to an erect position. The positioning of the shaft 16 and the width of the bar 17 are such that the bar 17 engages the carpet at substantially a right angle to the carpet backing.

An arm 19 secured to one end of the shaft 16 has adjustably attached thereto a weight 20 for urging the bar 17 into contact with the carpet 11. The weight 20 may be adjusted up and down the arm 19 to adjust the amount of force applied to carpet tufts 14 by the bar 17.

It can be seen from FIGURE 2 that the substantially vertical bar 17 rakes across the tufts on the horizontal carpet 11 as the carpet is moved beneath the bar 17. This raking action raises the tufts of the carpet from a leaning position to an erect position.

It is to be understood that the above described embodiment can be altered or amended and that other embodiments of the invention can be contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In combination with means for processing pile carpet material comprising a dryer for continuously heat treating and forwarding the material through a supporting zone and a beater for imparting sharp blows to the back of the carpet material adjacent the exit of said zone, means in said zone for raising the pile of the carpet to an erect position comprising a shaft spaced from the surface of carpet material and extending thereacross, means for rotatably supporting said shaft in such position, a bar secured to the shaft and having one edge thereof movable into contact with the carpet material at substantially a right angle thereto, and a weight secured to the shaft for urging the bar into contact with the carpet material, said shaft and bar being free of other structure so that the position of the bar is controlled solely by the weight and the force of the moving pile against said bar.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,274 7/ 1892 Heywood et al 26-2 545,957 9/ 1895 Gessner 26-15 2,035,640 3/1936 Dickie et a1. 26-2 2,970,362 2/1961 Rankin et al 26-2 3,137,054 6/1964 De Mestral 26-2 X FOREIGN PATENTS 537,672 3/ 1922 France.

999,105 10/ 1 France.

148,976 2/ 1904 Germany.

4,598 1876 Great Britain.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner. 

